Veiled Soul
by Terra Tigra
Summary: The first step is realizing the truth.


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Veiled Soul

Sirius Black couldn't remember how he had gotten there, laying flat on a cold floor, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his brain telling him with great urgency that he was needed somewhere else. It was this sense of importance that drew him away from the warm fuzziness of sleep and into the conscious world. 

He sat up quickly and tried to remember what had happened before he fell asleep. He was so confused. _How did I get here? I was doing something important…I can't remember._

Sirius shook his head and tried to clear his mind but a veil seemed to have settled between him and his thoughts and he could no longer latch onto any idea or memory for very long. He gave it up and climbed to his feet to look around. 

He was in a huge cathedral of a room with high arched ceilings that mimicked the sky outside, on this particular day it was perfectly blue with an occasional fluffy white cloud. Four wooden tables sat empty of food or people and at the end of the room was another table, also empty.

A memory surfaced along with recognition. "How did I get at Hogwarts?" he whispered to himself.

Sirius gazed all around the Great Hall, amazed to be back at his old school. When he had come full circle and was once again facing the High Table he saw that a man was standing in front of it. The man's back was to him but Sirius was fairly sure he hadn't been there before. He was looking up at a banner hanging above the table, it was the Gryffindor house flag (he was positive _that _hadn't been there before.)

Sirius was about to call out to him when familiarity struck him and caught his voice in his throat. He began to walk forward slowly as he fought to see the memories that were lurking just beyond his grasp. He was only ten steps away when his gaze feel on the man's messy black hair and a memory finally surfaced. 

"Harry?" Sirius spoke to the figure. 

"Sorry, mate," said the figure and he turned around. "It's just me."

Sirius furrowed his brow trying to recognize the man's face. Then suddenly, like a tidal wave, he was hit with memories of laughter and friendship, days full of adventure and trouble, feelings of immense joy and happiness. And then, a great sense of loss. 

"James?" he gasped.

James smiled. "It's been a long time, Padfoot."

"But it's not…How…I don't…I don't believe it," Sirius was at a total loss. Strong emotions, emotions he thought he had dealt with a long time ago, began to surface.

James walked up to him and grasped his friend's shoulders to hold him steady. "It's OK Sirius. It's really me."

Sirius looked into his best friend's eyes for the first time in fifteen years and he couldn't help but smile. With a burst of laughter that sounded like a bark, Sirius threw his arms around James and embraced him like he might disappear at any second. 

"It's good to see you, too," James laughed.

Sirius pulled away. "But how- how is it possible? I saw- I saw you, you were dead. Everything was destroyed and you- you- you were dead! And poor Lily and little Harry-" Sirius gasped. "Harry! We need to find Harry," he said.

"Sirius, wait-" James tried to say but Sirius wasn't listening.

"He won't believe it!" Sirius was saying as he started to pull James toward the huge double doors. "He'll be so excited!"

"Sirius, listen to me-" James tried.

"I bet he's in the Common Room; I hope he's not in class," Sirius continued. 

James pulled free of Sirius's grasp. "Padfoot, you have to listen to me!"

Sirius turned toward him and stopped. "What?"

"Harry's not in his Common Room or in class," said James.

"Then where is he?" Sirius asked.

"He's not anywhere we can get to him," James said almost sadly.

"What do you mean? Why can't we get to him?" Sirius asked.

James sighed. "Sirius, what do you remember? I mean, before you woke up here?"

Sirius thought for a second and then shrugged. "I don't know, I can't remember. But what does it matter?"

"It matters everything. Think. Think hard. You were doing something important, were you not?" James persisted. 

Sirius thought back. He was trying to see beyond the veil in his mind. An image here, a word there. He focused and the images cleared. 

He had gone in search of Harry to the Ministry of Magic. He had found him and he was in trouble. Harry needed his help, someone was trying to hurt him. 

"Harry! We have to help Harry! Someone is trying to hurt him- no, kill him! He's at the ministry!" Sirius said urgently.

"Wait, think about it, what else happened," James urged.

"But-" Sirius started.

"Please, Sirius, it is important."

Reluctantly, Sirius returned to the memory. He was dueling someone, his cousin, Bellatrix. They were standing on a dais, he dodged a spell. He was laughing, mocking but then something happened. A spell hit him hard, in the chest. And then he was falling…He heard someone screaming his name and then…nothing…

"I don't understanding…" Sirius searched for more memories but there was nothing after that. He looked to James for answers.

"You fell through the veil, Sirius," James said sadly. Sirius was shaking his head as though he didn't want to hear what James was going to say next. 

"You're dead."

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Authors Notes:

I know, I know. The only thing FanFiction.com needs more of is Harry Potter fics. Forgive me. 

The whole death of Sirius just left me so distraught that I felt I needed something to make myself feel a little better about letting go of my FAVORITE character. I know, I'm so selfish. 

I hope you like my story, it's actually my first Fan Fic. Strange, eh? 

So far, this is all I plan to write. I have a continuing story in mind but I'm not sure if I'm going to write it. It all depends on what kind of feedback I get. We'll see. 

Please tell me what you think of this, I'm sure something like this has been done already but that's OK. Personally, I don't really care about misspellings and things like that but if you find any your welcome to bring them up and I'll try to fix them. Negative and positive feedback is very much appreciated.

Thanx for Reading! Please Review, too!

Arrivederci!

-Terra Tigra-


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